EAST BRIDGEWATER - In his new role as selectman, William V. Dowling Jr. wants to see more openness between the Board of Selectmen and town residents.

He also wants selectmen to have a better relationship with the school committee.

“I think there needs to be more discussion... better relationships,” Dowling, 44, said Monday after he defeated incumbent selectmen Chairman Brian Connors in Saturday’s annual town election.

Dowling won by a margin of 491 votes. Dowling garnered 796 votes and Connors, 305.

“The people spoke loud and clear on this one. It feels good. I had a lot of good support,” Dowling said Monday afternoon, before being sworn in as selectman. He planned to take his new seat on the three-member board during the selectmen’s meeting at Town Hall on Monday night.

Connors, first elected as selectman in 2011, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Dowling, a married father of four, has served on the town’s finance committee for more than two years. He has lived in East Bridgewater for 12 years. Saturday’s election was his first formal bid for public office.

Dowling graduated from Suffolk University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and U.S. history. He previously worked in mutual funds and as an EMT for several years, and now is a stay-at-home Dad caring for his children, he said.

Meanwhile, in the School Committee race, incumbent Gordon McKinnon and Ellen K. Pennington won two seats on the six-member panel.

McKinnon garnered 588 votes and Pennington, 581. Two others who were vying for the School Committee seats did not make the cut. Valerie A. Mason garnered 427 votes and Jonathan A. White, 312.

Former committee member Elizabeth Hayes did not seek re- election. McKinnon was appointed to the committee in October 2013 after Michael Power resigned when he took a job at the School Department.

Maria Papadopoulos may be reached at mpapa@enterprisenews.com or follow on Twitter @MariaP_ENT.